dictionary

Noun

(plural dictionaries)

A reference work with a list of words from one or more languages, normally ordered alphabetically and explaining each word's meaning and sometimes containing information on its etymology, usage, translations, and other data.

By extension, any work that has a list of material organized alphabetically; e.g. biographical dictionary, encyclopedic dictionary.

(computing) An associative array, a data structure where each value is referenced by a particular key, analogous to words and definitions in a physical dictionary.

dictionary - Computer Definition

In cracking terms,
a dictionary is a word list that plugs into cracking programs as a means of
“breaking” passwords. These
dictionaries contain real words and those that individuals tend to choose for
passwords. Because it takes only a few minutes to go through hundreds of
thousands of words in a dictionary to crack a password, computer users are
warned not to select a word that may be commonly found in a dictionary. In
theory, users tend to select passwords that they have used previously. A
popular password is NCC1701, which was the registry number for Captain James T.
Kirk’s starship, the Enterprise,
on the original “Star Trek” television series. Children’s names and anniversary
dates are also popular passwords.